Jon Kinyon

Switchblade Symphony

A friend and I discovered the band Switchblade Symphony in 1990 and I quickly produced their first studio recording for a compilation album on my own label. The LP featured 10 of the best industrial/goth bands based in San Francisco at the time. 

The song “Mine Eyes” was key to Switchblade Symphony being signed to Cleopatra Records – the version on their debut album is my recording with some added keyboard parts. 

One of Switchblade Symphony’s most popular songs was “Clown” which was inspired by my Bon Bon the Voodoo Clown character – first seen on cable access TV in a sketch comedy show. 

I can still see them sitting on the floor in front of the television, like two little girls, happily enjoying the first episode of the show and laughing hysterically. 

Their (short-lived) "producer" and wannabe manager (my ex-friend and ex-business partner) wound up ripping me off on a big record deal, raising money behind my back and stealing the project away. 

He then justified it to me in a phone call, “You have a lot going on, you have that voodoo clown character and I have nothing.” That was no consolation. What was a consolation though was hearing through other people that the band had turned around on him and ripped him off on a subsequent deal, costing him thousands of dollars. 

Karma is a bitch.